Bases brace for shutdown

Published: Monday, September 30, 2013 at 08:55 PM.

PANAMA CITY — Local military bases are watching closely to gauge the effect — and longevity — of a government shutdown, as hundreds of local civilian workers are expected to be furloughed.

U.S Air Force 2nd Lt. Andrea Valencia of Tyndall Air Force Base public relations could not pass on details Monday of how the base will be impacted but acknowledged the base was working under the assumption a shutdown is imminent.

“It will have an impact, but we just don’t know how much as of yet,” Valencia said midday Monday.

Department of Defense (DoD) Comptroller Robert Hale said 400,000 civilian Defense Department workers across the country would be sent home beginning today under a shutdown.

Hale made the statement during a press conference Friday.

“Military and other civilians directed to work would be paid retroactively once the lapse of appropriation ends,” Hale said. “Civilians on emergency furloughs … would be paid retroactively only if a law is enacted providing the authority to pay them.”

Naval Support Activity Panama City (NSAPC) is asking all personnel to report to work today for further instruction, even if the government is shut down.

PANAMA CITY — Local military bases are watching closely to gauge the effect — and longevity — of a government shutdown, as hundreds of local civilian workers are expected to be furloughed.

U.S Air Force 2nd Lt. Andrea Valencia of Tyndall Air Force Base public relations could not pass on details Monday of how the base will be impacted but acknowledged the base was working under the assumption a shutdown is imminent.

“It will have an impact, but we just don’t know how much as of yet,” Valencia said midday Monday.

Department of Defense (DoD) Comptroller Robert Hale said 400,000 civilian Defense Department workers across the country would be sent home beginning today under a shutdown.

Hale made the statement during a press conference Friday.

“Military and other civilians directed to work would be paid retroactively once the lapse of appropriation ends,” Hale said. “Civilians on emergency furloughs … would be paid retroactively only if a law is enacted providing the authority to pay them.”

Naval Support Activity Panama City (NSAPC) is asking all personnel to report to work today for further instruction, even if the government is shut down.

Steve Applegate, of NSAPC’s public affairs office, said the base is taking precautions.

“We are planning for a shutdown,” Applegate said. “It’s the prudent thing to do.”

At the Navy base, all “nonessential” personnel would be affected by the shutdown, Applegate said. Anyone who is not considered a national security essential or essential for keeping the base secure would be impacted, he noted.

There are more than 2,100 civilian workers at both bases.

DoD officials also are warning access to and from bases across the county could be affected.

Springfield city officials announced Monday that furloughed military service members would not have to pay their water or sewer bill until they resume getting paychecks after a government shutdown.

The service member would be required to show they are active duty military.

Civilian DoD workers already have had to work through furlough days this past summer and continued to do so until the end of the government’s fiscal year, which ended Monday.

NOTE: Clicking on hashtags in this stream may result in seeing adult material, such as photos or foul language, that appear elsewhere on Twitter. We do not endorse such material, but we do not have control over what items can be found in hashtag searches.